MOSCOW - Seven people died Sunday in a fire that swept through a retirement home in Toula, central Russia, a report said.
More than 100 firefighters and 22 vehicles were sent to the scene, where 293 people were evacuated, according to Ria-Novosti news agency, which cited an emergency official. The origin of the fire was not immediately known.
The fire was the latest in a series of deadly blazes killing dozens of people in Russia in recent months. The fires have often been attributed to safety rules violations.
In December last year, a fire in a Moscow drug rehabilitation clinic killed 45 women. Many of the victims were trapped by metal bars on the windows that staff could not open and an emergency exit was boarded up.
In March, a fire at a nursing home in southern Russia killed 63 people. The blaze was blamed on violations of fire safety regulations and the lack of a nearby fire station.
Ten people were killed in June in a suspected arson attack on a retirement home in the Omsk region in Siberia.
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11/04/2007 21:23 GMT